Surprise: AP Notes 'Chicken and Egg Problem' With Electric Cars

By

Kyle Gillis

July 26, 2010 - 11:19am

Maybe now would be the perfect time for the former British Petroleum to market itself as BP: Battery Plug-in. The realities of owning and operating the electric cars championed by the Obama administration and the environmental left are difficult even for media cheerleaders to ignore.

A [1]July 26 AP report revealed a “chicken and the egg” problem in President Obama’s push for electric cars. Only a “few hundred” public chargers exist, making it difficult for electric car drivers to venture further away from their home or get caught in traffic. AP reporter Joel Schectman quickly noted that the lack of chargers is a “fear that automakers must overcome” and reassured readers that help from (where else?) the government is on its way:

“Only a few hundred public chargers exist now, but several government grants totaling more than $115 million will help add thousands more, including in San Diego, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Bellevue, Wash.”

Schectman reported that Obama has set a goal of 1 million electric cars by 2015, but that there will only be an estimated 16,000 public charging stations by 2012. Additionally, Schectman noted that it would take nearly eight hours to charge a car at a public charging station and that even a partial charge would take up to two-and-half hours. That’s enither practicaln or convenient, and Schectman had to concede that electric cars only “fill a certain niche but aren’t for everyone:”

“’I would not recommend this car for road trips," said Nissan spokeswoman Katherine Zachary. "We see this as a city car, a commuter car.’”

Schectman did mention the failed EV1 from General Motors, which cited a lack of public chargers as part of its failure. However, while Schectman cited a lack of public chargers, the real reason was simple economics: the [2]EV1 wasn’t in demand, so consumers didn’t but it.

Nowhere in the article did Schectman mention that charging vehicles at home [3]may increase the energy burden on the electricity grid. But he did avoid [4]touting electric cars as economic saviors.

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